Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics 12 (2): 142–146 DOI: 10.2478/jef-2018-0016
DRINKS IN THE CULTURE OF THE PEOPLES OF THE VOLGA- URALS REGION*
3RD ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SYMPOSIUM IN LUDORVAY, U DM U RT I A , SE P T E M BE R 18–20, 2018
The tradition of ‘field symposia’ in Ludor- sometimes conferences concentrate on alco- vay, Udmurtia, is the result of cooperation holic drinking (such as the Drinking and between the Open Air Museum and the Driving Is so Much Fun workshop held in Academy of Sciences humanities research Tartu in 2013), this one took into account the institute. The project was started by Elena different kinds of drink that are relevant for Popova, a researcher at the Institute. Pop- the cultures in which they were observed. ova is officially an ethnographer, who later The programme of the symposium was specialised in visual anthropology. How- very rich: there were different kinds of activ- ever, her approach in all her endeavours ities and events, all connected with the topic is really a fully anthropologic approach, of the symposium. The opening was origi- which she implements in the organisation nal in its form. After short speeches by the of these symposia. She is also a passion- director of the museum, the director of the ate fieldworker. This is probably why the research institute and Popova, the Glazov conception underlying these symposia is museum of local history presented a short fieldwork, and connection to present reali- play without words but with songs about ties. Popova also emphasises that one of Udmurt eating and drinking, illustrat- the goals of these symposia is to give the ing the production of crops and other raw museum staff information and inspiration materials. The following event, the opening to invest in their work. of a mysterious ‘landscape exhibition’, was The first two-day gathering, in 2014, was a real surprise for all the participants. The dedicated to the institution of mutual assis- museum is situated in huge grounds (ca 40 tance in the culture of the Peoples of the ha), including a spring, beside which there Volga-Urals region, called in Udmurt veme. is now not only the wooden sculpture of an This approach was widened in 2016, when old woman, but also a functioning device the topic was sacred space in the same for making moonshine. All the participants region, which appears to provide the spa- were offered moonshine directly taken in a tial framework of these symposia. In 2018, wooden spoon, accompanied by welcome the topic was drinks in culture, a topic that songs in the Udmurt tradition. Another is wider than one could imagine. While opening was included in the programme a the geographic area was pre-defined, com- bit later, in the room hosting the presenta- parative approaches are always welcome, tions: a graphic exhibition with paintings and thus some presentations touched upon directly conceived for this event. Anna other Russian regions – such as Siberia – or Shevtsova, an artist from Moscow, had dis- other parts of the world. The understanding covered in 2017 the Udmurt and Udmurt of ‘drinks’ itself was quite extensive: while culture and had accepted the challenge of
* This research has been supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PUT590 and the Estonian Kindred Peoples Programme’s project No 782.
142 JOURNAL OF ETHNOLOGY AND FOLKLORISTICS 12 (2) preparing a personal exhibition one year presented with an offering due the first time later, called Udmurt Tetramorph. We may one drinks. Then, everybody was encour- say that her approach to art is both naïve aged to sing according to their own tradi- and reminiscent of medieval illuminations. tion, and thus we had songs from Austria, She drew inspiration from Udmurt mythol- Hungary, Ireland, from the Eastern Udmurt ogy to create enchanting miniatures. and from the Udmurt from Udmurtia. Ludorvay’s museum has included in its The scientific programme was the core programme different activities, on a daily of the symposium. In addition, a presenta- basis. Among them, they offer their visitors tion of books published by the participants ethnic food and drinks they prepare them- about food and drinking culture had been selves. The symposium was interspersed organised. The main part of the scientific by sessions, usually right after the meals, programme were the presentation sessions in which the staff showed how to prepare that occupied two and a half days. some drinks and offered samples. On the In the construction of the symposium, first day there were samples of herbal tea general issues covered the first session: and, in the evening, Udmurt homemade Tatyana Vladykina, the leading Udmurt beer, sur, as made by Liliya Garayeva, an folklorist, opened the scientific part with a Eastern Udmurt tradition bearer from presentation on the symbolic meaning of Bashkiria. Garayeva had been invited per- food and drink in Udmurt rituals. In the sonally to this symposium and she fully same session, there were two other general participated in the first day: she commented but very different issues on the use of plants on some presentations and even acted as in the preparation of drinks, by ethnobota- informer for some of the participants. Of nist Nadezhda Suntsova, and the presence course, she showed us the process of mak- of drinks in modern social life and their ing sur, but it requires time and must rest use in festivals and in branding, by Elena before consumption, so we tasted one she Popova. There were also precise studies had prepared at home. The next day we of concrete cultures. From Bashkiria, we discovered non-alcoholic berry drinks, with had two insights: we became thoroughly samples made from wild cherry, guelder acquainted with kumys, the fermented mare rose and blackcurrant, and, in the evening milk drink of the Bashkir, thanks to El’za were introduced to the making of Udmurt Migranova from Ufa. She had brought two kvas, a drink based on crops with the addi- kinds of kumys for the audience to taste at tion of rye bread. Finally, the participants the coffee break. We also reflected on the and the audience were led to the apiary. The use of moonshine in Eastern Udmurt cul- museum makes its own honey and its own ture with a presentation by Anna Baydul- mead, and the staff member responsible for lina, herself from the Udmurt community in the bees, Vladimir Maratkanov, gave every- North-Western Bashkortostan. body a taste. The following section led us far away Every evening, the staff of the museum from Russia, into Western Europe, with two sang, thus giving a living sample of Udmurt presentations about Southern Europe. Both singing traditions: singing is at the core of Mikhail Kabitskiy and Natal’ya Bronnikova Udmurt behaviour and is still very much from Moscow have been exploring the cul- alive. We were offered drink so often that ture of wine in the Latin countries – Italy, we had many opportunities to discover the Spain, Portugal, France, the social habits con- tradition of singing while offering food or nected with its use on the bases of extensive drinks (Rus: ugoshcheniye). The last even- fieldwork (Kabitskiy) and the way wine is ing, we attended the ritual of bereket (‘bar- consumed, with or without water, depend- rel’), where a small barrel of moonshine is ing on the historical period (Bronnikova), on
Notes and Reviews 143 the basis of interviews. Jenny Butler (Cork) sian North and investigated, not without introduced the audience to Irish drinking humour, how the 19th century ‘fieldwork- culture, and many unexpectedly recognised ers’ commented on and interpreted the use common features with Udmurt practices… of spirits by indigenous peoples. The next The audience very much enjoyed Christian presentation was humorous per se, because Pischlöger’s presentation about Vienna’s it touched upon caricature related to drink- wines, which was both reflexive and practi- ing and drinkers in the Soviet press (Ivan cal, for Christian had brought the very same Grin’ko and Anna Shevtsova, Moscow). wines he told us about for the audience to Mariya Vyatshina (Tartu, Estonia) concen- taste and discover. trated on one Udmurt village to show the The second day led us to discover differ- impact of anti-alcohol campaigns. Finally, ent practices connected to tea. Sometimes it Denis Kornilov represented the only is also revealing to pinpoint absences and moment of visual anthropology by show- not only presences: coffee was totally miss- ing us two short films, or just edited video ing on those three days, which shows that its material: one he shot in his own village, social use has not been felt to be as relevant about a neighbour who is afflicted with a in the region investigated. The only indirect dependency on alcohol and is trying to presence of coffee was in the last presenta- get free of it and get back some agency in tion of that second morning, that of Maria his own life. Only a very close and trusted Sukhova’s (Glazov) about a collection of person would be able to film such delicate items connected with tea in urban culture, sequences, and Denis is very cautious about in which there were some coffee-related the places where he shows it. The other is as cups. Here, the regional principle was rig- delicate and sensitive, and even more mys- orously respected: we had some insights on terious: four elder women wait somewhere the use of tea by Russians and by Tatars, all and interact while sipping moonshine. No of them in the region announced. We dis- subtitles allow a foreign audience to fol- covered how tea shaped the fate of a town low their conversation, but what they say like Kungur (Ol’ga Renyova, Kungur) and is actually not relevant. The audience must how nuptial arrangements built up around focus on their body language, and on how tea ceremonies in the Votkinsk factory (Alla they relate to the small glass they sip from. Karpeyeva, Votkinsk). Aleksandr Chernykh Denis Kornilov is a born visual anthropolo- (Perm’) gave us a very detailed insight gist. With his mere presence, he elicits trust into the place of tea in Russian culture in and allows people to behave as if there were the region crossed by the Kama River. We unaware of the camera. can regret that Tatar culture was not pre- After a necessary break to digest the emo- sent enough in this symposium because it tions coming from the films, the symposium is probably the strongest in the Volga-Ural went on with presentations about differ- region. That morning, there was only an ent communities in the Volga-Ural region. explaination of how tea is present in the life Thematically, we were moving nearer and of the Tatars living in Northern Udmurtia nearer to the Udmurt: from the use of differ- (Diana Kasimova, Glazov). ent drinks by the Bashkir (Margarita Sulej The following section was probably the manova, Ufa) and by the Komi-Permyak most heterogeneous of the symposium: the (Tat’yana Goleva, Perm’) up to the Russians presentations were more or less isolated and in Northern Udmurtia (Ljubov’ Likhacheva, while they had no evident connection with Glazov). The last presentations of the day one another, they had none at all with all started to concentrate on the Udmurt: the the other issues. Art Leete (Tartu, Estonia) use of drinks associated with incantations brought us to the arctic culture of the Rus- (Tat’yana Panina, Izhevsk), the use of sjukas’
144 JOURNAL OF ETHNOLOGY AND FOLKLORISTICS 12 (2) (kvas) in rituals and in everyday life (Galina This description of the proceedings of Glukhova, Izhevsk) and the drink called the symposium shows that it was mani- vars’ in the Sharkan region (Yuri Perevoz- fold, rich and interdisciplinary. It covered chikov, Izhevsk). diverse ethnic groups and different aspects The last day was fully dedicated to of drinking, from material culture to sym- Udmurtia. Some presentations appeared bolic meaning. Most of the presentations to be quite organically connected, echoing were interesting and well delivered. to one another. It started from an external The output of this symposium is sup- glance on Udmurt drinking culture (Eva posed to be a collective monograph. To Toulouze, Tartu and Paris), who has been date the presentations have been published, able to carry out fieldwork in the Udmurt although scattered across different issues of areas since 1990. Her presentation was fol- different journals. Now there is a wish to lowed by insiders’ views on alcohol both in give visibility to these proceedings and to general and in ritual, mainly about funeral have a publication ad hoc. The symposium and commemorative rituals (Nikolai Ani- also received wide coverage in the Udmurt simov, Tartu) and in ceremonial rituals and Udmurt language media. (Nadezhda Shutova, Izhevsk). Observations Although the audience was not very pinpointed in the first of the three presen- extensive, there were still attendants from tations received interpretation in the two different institutions, as well as scholars others. Other presentations focused on the who did not take the floor, students, musi- communicative function of offering drinks cians, folklorists connected to cultural insti- (Tat’yana Russkikh, Izhevsk), on the wed- tutions. This aspect could be emphasised ding use of them by Russians in Udmurtia and these symposia could attract more of (Svetlana Tolkacheva, Izhevsk). Two pre the potentially interested audience. We sentations focused on the lexical aspect: could also endeavour to increase partici- Tat’yana Dushenkova (Izhevsk) analysed pation from Estonia, for the comparative the names of the milk-based drinks, while potential of these meetings is huge indeed. Valey Kel’makov commented on the name of mead in Udmurt. It is one of the enriching Eva Toulouze aspects of these symposia: Popova always (INALCO Paris France), endeavours to have an interdisciplinary Nikolai Anisimov approach and to associate disciplines other (Estonian Literary Museum) than ethnology and folklore, like linguistics, botany, and others. The last session reminded us that we were in a museum and dealt with repre- sentation of drinks. Firstly, it was dedi- cated to the museographic dimension of drinking, with collections of objects from different museums – Udmurt museums in general (Yuliya Maratkanova, Izhevsk), the National Museum in Izhevsk (Mariya Toka- reva, Izhevsk), the Museum of the History of Religion in Saint Petersburg (Anna Mutina, Saint Petersburg). The last presentation, made by Aleksandr Vakhrushev (Izhevsk), commented upon gastronomy in the mass media in Udmurtia.
Notes and Reviews 145 NOTES naya televizionnaya i radioveshchatel’naya kom- paniya Udmurtiya. http://udmtv.ru/news/v_ udmurtii_otkrylsya_simpozium_chasom_s_ 1 The museum covers an area where there kvasom_napitki_v_kulture_narodov_uralo_ was formerly a Russian village and is situated povolzhya/ (accessed October 25, 2018). [В 17 km from Izhesk, the capital of Udmurtia. Удмуртии открылся симпозиум «Часом The Udmurt village of Ludorvay was formerly с квасом: Напитки в культуре народов reputed for an incident in 1929 that started the Урало-Поволжья». – Государственная brutal collectivisation process in Udmurtia. телевизионная и радиовещательная ком 2 Media coverage includes television news пания Удмуртия. http://udmtv.ru/news/v_ in Udmurt (see Ivor’’ёs 2018, minutes 7.45–9.00); udmurtii_otkrylsya_simpozium_chasom_s_ news in Russian (V Udmurtii 2018); a radio pro- kvasom_napitki_v_kulture_narodov_uralo_ gramme in Udmurt (Esh’’yas’kon tukogo 2018), povolzhya/] and an article in Udmurt in the journal of the Eastern Udmurt, by participant Anna Baydullina (2018). This report is to be added to this list.
References
Baydullina, Anna. 2018. “Ludorvayyn” kalyk yuon’’yosly sïzem uzhrad ortchiz. – Oshmes, September 21. https://oshmes.rbsmi.ru/news/ ludorvayyn-kalyk-yuonyesly-s-zem-uzhrad- ortchiz/?sphrase_id=498054 (accessed November 30, 2018). [Байдуллина, Анна. 2018. «Лудорвайын» калык юонъёслы сӥзем ужрад ортчиз. – Ошмес, September 21. https://oshmes.rbsmi.ru/news/ludor- vayyn-kalyk-yuonyesly-s-zem-uzhrad- ortchiz/?sphrase_id=498054] Esh’’yas’kon tukogo. 2018. – Gosudarstven- naya televizionnaya i radioveshchatel’naya kompaniya Udmurtiya. http://www. udmtv.ru/news/eshyaskon_tugoko_efir_ ot_25_09_2018/ (accessed October 25, 2018). [Эшъяськон тугоко. 2018. – Государственная телевизионная и радиовещательная компания Удмуртия. http://www.udmtv.ru/news/ eshyaskon_tugoko_efir_ot_25_09_2018/] Ivor’’ёs 2018. Gosudarstvennaya televizionnaya i radioveshchatel’naya kompaniya Udmurtiya. http://udmtv.ru/news/ivoryes_21_09_2018_/ (accessed October 25, 2018). [Иворъёс 2018. – Государственная телевизионная и радиовещательная компания Удмуртия. http://udmtv.ru/news/ivoryes_21_09_2018_/] V Udmurtii. 2018 = V Udmurtii otkrylsya simpo- zium „Chasom s kvasom: Napitki v kul’ture narodov Uralo-Povolzh’ya“. – Gosudarstven-
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